Tried and Tested
by darris108
Summary: Harry and Ginny contemplate the many challenges that their relationship has overcome.


_A/N: OMG two uploads in two days! I was feeling productive today. So this is a one-shot for a contest over on deviantArt. The theme was 'Tests'. If you have a dA account, my profile is catdog217. Hope you enjoy this! :D_

A gentle summer's breeze drifted through the otherwise completely silent and still village. The leaves of the trees rustled peacefully in the darkness of the early hour, the only light coming from a rather temperamental streetlamp. It flickered rapidly, giving a gentle buzz as it did so. As the minutes ticked by, the light stubbornly refused to be completely extinguished; occasionally dying down for a few seconds, it would invariably spark back into life a few moments later. After a while, its persistent buzzing and shimmering was disrupted by a small, gentle 'pop'.

A man had appeared on the patch of grass on the other side of the road from the streetlamp. Even by his outline, it was possible to discern that the man was exhausted. His shoulders sagged as he stood, and his breathing was heavy. He appeared to pause to regain his breath, and then looked around at the streetlamp. The ever-feebler light showed a thin, bespectacled face framed with jet-black, untidy hair, whose bright green, almond-shaped eyes confirmed the man's extreme tiredness. It appeared that the man was making a conscious effort to hold them open.

The man contemplated the streetlamp for several seconds. Then, he pulled a wand from the inside of his jacket. He pointed it at the streetlamp, which suddenly flared, and became bright as the morning sun. The glorious orange light flooded the street for no more than a second, and then settled down to a consistent, beautiful glow which seemed to penetrate the deepest corners of the vicinity, after the near-total darkness that had preceded it. The man stood there for a few more seconds, still staring at the streetlamp, and apparently lost in thought. Then, he turned his back on it, and walked up to the gate of the house directly in front of him. The gate opened with the tiniest of creaks, and he walked up the garden path.

Limping slightly, Harry Potter proceeded to the front door, limping slightly. His wand was still drawn as he reached it, and he gave the door a series of rhythmic taps on specific points, which glowed brightly as he touched them. On the last tap, the door swung open silently, and he stepped over the threshold. Checking his watch, he saw that it was half past midnight. He had been awake for nearly twenty-four hours now, and wanted more than anything to sleep. However, his fatigued brain also registered something else; today was the first anniversary of his wedding to Ginny.

Ginny. Wonderful Ginny. His life, his strength. And it had been an entire year since that glorious day last summer when they had become eternally united. He smiled to himself at the memory of that perfect ceremony, remembering how Molly and Hermione had sobbed unashamedly as he and Ginny had exchanged their vows, how George had set off an entire crate of his very best fireworks during the reception afterwards, and how Ginny had stared into his eyes with that loving, blazing look as they danced, the same look she had worn before they had kissed for the first time. And it had been exactly a year ago today.

He hung up his coat on its usual peg, and sat down on the bottom stair to remove his shoes, wincing slightly at the spike of pain he experienced in his right leg. He hardly noticed it, however, lost as he was in his thoughts of Ginny. Having removed his shoes, he stood up in and opened the door in front of him in an almost trance-like state. The living-room was dimly lit by the small lamp on the shelf on the far side of the room, and by the pale glow it cast over the room, he saw the small, curled-up figure of his beautiful wife.

She always waited up for him, when he was due to return late from a mission or raid with the other Aurors. She always waited, every time, so that he could make good on his promise, the one that he had made wholeheartedly to her the first time they had been alone together after Voldemort's defeat. Harry took a moment to remember this, too. The very day after the final battle at Hogwarts, he had awoken very suddenly in his four-poster, and immediately experienced such an onslaught of grief, pain and sadness that he had cried out, and burst into tears. It was a few seconds before he realised that Ginny lay next to him, having been awoken by his shout. She held him close to her, and for several minutes he had sobbed into her shoulder.

With her comfort, he had gradually regained control of himself, although thoughts of all the people that had been lost in the struggle to end Voldemort once and for all continued to besiege his mind. Images of Fred, Remus and Tonks had swum before his eyes, and he remembered wondering how Ginny could even bear to look at him, with all that he was responsible for. Yet he knew that, even though he may despise himself for all the things that he had done or not done, she still loved him. And it was as he realised this that he had looked straight into her eyes, and whispered, "I will never, ever leave you again."

And so, every time his duties as an Auror tried to pull him away from her, she would stay up and wait for his return. And every time, he would overcome any obstacle in the way of returning to her, for she was all that really mattered. So it had been ever since Harry finally became free of the burden of Voldemort and the prophecy, and all the trials they had placed upon him. He had started Auror training in the following September, and they were married the summer after Ginny finished Hogwarts. Almost immediately after returning from their honeymoon, Ginny had been signed to the Holyhead Harpies reserve team, and Harry had completed his final Auror tests. Although both of their jobs would ordinarily require a lot of travel and time away from home, they managed to keep their time apart to a minimum. Being instrumental in the defeat of the greatest dark wizard of all time had its perks.

Harry sat down on the sofa next to Ginny, who had obviously fallen asleep waiting for him. He lightly ran his hand through her fiery red hair, and she gave a contented sigh. Stirring, she reached up and took his hand, caressing his palm with her thumb. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Happy Anniversary," said Harry, grinning. She looked around at the clock, yawning.

"Oh… it's tomorrow already," she mumbled sleepily, and Harry chuckled. Bending down, he kissed her. She placed her arms around his back, pulling him down to lie next to her. They lay there for several minutes, simply looking at each other, occasionally exchanging chaste kisses, and holding each other tightly. Harry's brain felt very heavy. Whenever he returned to her, the enormity of the things their love had been through always struck him powerfully, but this time it was even stronger than usual.

Ginny appeared to sense something of his thoughts. Holding him still tighter, she said, "What is it, Harry?"

"We've been married a year," he said simply, smiling. "All the things that have tried to keep us apart, and we've still got this far."

She smiled back, and nodded. "The things we've endured… just little things, like, you know, a Basilisk…"

Harry chuckled again, and joined in. "A power-mad dark wizard…"

"Said power-mad dark wizard's equally dark and power-mad bunch of followers…"

"A Dementor or two… Or two hundred…"

"The odd giant…"

"What, Voldemort's giants or Grawp?" They both laughed.

"Oh, and of course, Romlida Vane!" finished Ginny, and she giggled as Harry pulled a disgusted face at the memory of the girl who had endlessly flirted with him, desperate for his attention to the point of trying to slip him a love potion.

"And we're both still here," said Ginny, quietly. The weight of Harry's realisation seemed to have struck her too.

"And I still love you," he said. They stared into each other's eyes, and once again, Ginny's look was blazing with power and love.

"Just as well, really," she said, "because I love you too." She leant forward again and kissed him. It was not a kiss of desire or lust, but a gentle kiss that contained all of their love for one another.

After a while, they wordlessly agreed that they would be more comfortable upstairs in bed than downstairs on the sofa. They got up, linked hands, and ascended the staircase. On reaching the bedroom, Ginny slipped under the duvet and sat up, waiting for Harry to join her. Harry removed his shirt and trousers, and walked over to the window to draw the curtains. He saw the streetlamp on the other side of the street; the light which, like their love, had occasionally flickered under the weight of the world, but had, with a little help, returned, more powerful and more beautiful than before. He knew that whatever might befall the two of them, their love would emerge all the stronger for it, as it already had, time and time again. Harry smiled to himself and drew the curtains. He removed his glasses, placed them on his bedside table, and climbed into bed beside Ginny. He put his arms around her, and instantly, they both fell asleep.

_A/N: Virtual cookies for all who review. _


End file.
